Ventilating cowl



Nov. 10, 1931. H. F. SCHMIDT 1,830,857

VENTILATING 'COWL Filed Dec. 18. 1929 ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 10, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFic-Ie;

HENRY F., scmnm', or LANsnoWNE, PENNsYLvANA, A'ssrefNoJal To vwns'rrnefnorrsis: ,1f

ELECTRIC a MANUFACTUMNG COMPANY, A CORPORATION `or BENNSYLVANIAM VENTILATING cowL Application mea December 1s, i929. serial No. 414,975.`

My invention relates to cowls or ventilators, Vthat is, ducts or conduits generally employed for discharging air into a compartment, as in the case of a ventilator of the discharge type, or, for removing air or other gases from a compartment, as in the case'of a ventilator of the suction type, and it has for an object to provide apparatus of the character designated which shalll be more effective and which shall have a greater capacity for transmitting air or other gases than e apparatus of this character heretofore provided. i f

It has for a further object to provide a cowl which shall be so formed as to effect a velocity-pressure conversion of the air passing therethrough in order that the air may leave the cowl with suiiicient static pressure to insure the required velocity of How against the resistance offered by the connecting ventilating system as in the. case of a discharge cowl, or, in order that the air may enter the cowl at a sufliciently low pressure as will provide the required induction of air, as in the case of a suction cowl. f Y f Ithas for still another object to provide a cowl which shall have less frontal area and which shall consequently offer less wind resistance than the cowls heretofore provided and which shall also have a stream-lined contour so as to reduce the resistance offered y against its passage through the air, or the passage of the air about the cowl.

It has for stillanother object to provide a cowl which shall embody improved means for changing the direction of flow of theair from the horizontal to the vertical or, "vice versa, with minimum loss in energy. Y These and other objects are effected by m invention, as will be apparent from the following description and 'claims taken inconf nectionv with the accompanying drawings, `forming apart of this application, in which: Fig. 1 is a side view, in sectional-elevation,

of one form of discharge cowl constructed in accordancewith my invention; f Fig. 2 is a front end view of the cowl shown inFig.1; a f

i Figs. 3 and e are'sectional views taken on the lines III-III Yand vIV-IV-:of Fig. 1, respectively; t 1 Y L Fig. 5 is a side view, in sectional elevation, of one form of suctioncowl constructed in accordance with my invention; .f

Fig. 6 is a rear end view of the cowlshown in Fig. 5; and,

Figs. 7 and 8 are sectional views taken on the linesVII-VII and 5, respectively. Referring toFigs. 1 to Lloof-the drawings, I show a formof discharge cowlv embodying a longitudinally extending inlet port-ion* 15 cut diagonallyat V16 and joinedto'a vertically-extending portion 17. The portions '15 and,17 arevpreferably of identical `cross section and` together'zmay be said yto form an inlet Aelbow 18. t Joined tot-he vertically-.extending portiony 17 of the elbow is aydiverging VIIIe-17H1 of Fig.

portion 19 whichterrninates in adownwardly directed outlet 21. v Preferably, as shown in Fig. 3, the-elbow end of the cowl, in cross section, has its major axis extending in the direction of the wind Iand this is also true ofthe greaterlength of the divergent portion 19. exposed or frontal areapof the cowl, and, hence, the cowl offers less resistance `toits movementthrough the air in cases where the cowl is moved through the air or, the air oers less resistance in passingF about thecowl, in cases where the cowl is stationary. Inaddition, the cowl is preferably stream-lined byv having both its :front and .rear A surfaces Y curved, as at 22 and 23, respectivelythe rear surface 23 having :a slightlyless'er radius of curvature than the. front surface 22. The air, therefore,rnot taken inby the cowl','passes overits outer surface lwith `as little disturb- 4ance as possible. As statedheretofore,` the This reduces the iso base or inlet portion 21 of the cowl is preferably made circular in cross section, as shown in Fig. 4, inasmuch as it is the customary practice to adjust the angular position of the cowl in accordance with the prevailing direction of the wind.

In order that the air may travel through the elbow portion 18 in the most efficient manner, I provide, within the elbow and on its diagonal line, a plurality of splint-ers or guide vanes 24 arranged to receive the horizontallyT moving air and to direct it downwardly into the vertically-extending, diverging portion. The splinters or guide vanes 24 serve to turn or change the direction of the air with a minimum loss in energy andl they also remove any tendency toward turbulence or the creation of eddy currents. In addition, they cooperate to deliver the air to the divergentportion 19 with a more uniform pressure and velocity across the length of the cowl from its front to its rear surface. Owing to the fact that the width of the elbow portion of the cowl is less than its length, the arrangement of the splintersV in this portion .has some structural advantages in that they may be made relatively short in length and consequently they'have greater rigidity and exert a better reinforcing eect.

From the foregoing, the operation of my improved cowl willbe apparent Air enters the inlet 15 in a substantially .horizontal direction and is directed by the elbow portion 18and the splinters or guide .vanes 24 into the vertically-extending and diverging portion 19'. As stated heretofore, the splinters serve to deliver-the air to the diverging portion at a relatively uniform velocityk and pressure throughout the length of the cowl so as to render the diverging` portion as highly effec-- tive as possible. As the now-area of the diyverging portion increases in the direction of flow, the air t velocity reduced and a portion ofthe kinetic energy of the air is thus reduced intovv static pressure. t A

Y The increased static pressure is, therefore, 'available to force the air through the ventilating system supplied by the'cowl against the resistance to now offered by such Ventilating system. As a result, a given sizeof cowl con'- structed in accordance withmy invention is capable of circulating a greater quantity of air through a Ventil ating system than cowls of the type heretofore provided.` It will therefore be obvious-that cowls constructed in acl coi-dance with'my invention offer less wind reinstance, occupyless space, entail less weight of material, etc. for ay given capacity than the forms of cowls heretofore provided. A -v Referring now to Figs. 5 to.7, 'I show a cowl of thesuction typewhich is constructed in accordance with my invention and which is 'similar to thecowl shown in Figs. 1 to 4 except that, in this type, the inlet 31 Vis generally lopassing therethrough has its cated at the lower end of the cowl and the outlet 32 at the upper end. A diverging portion 33 is formed between the inlet and the outlet so as to provide an increase in flowarea in a direction from the inl-et toward the outlet. Consequently, as the air passes through the diverging portion, it has its velocity decreased and some of its kinetic energy is transformed into static pressure. In this way, greater static pressure difference is created between theY inlet and the outlet of the cowl and, as cowlsV of this character generally discharge to the atmosphere, a

ylowerV sub-atmospheric pressure prevails at the entrant portionof the Ycowl andfitswca- -pacity for withdrawing Aair or otherV gases from the Ventilating system with which it connects" is consequently increased.

Lilie the discharge cowl shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the suction cowl shown in Figs. 5 to 8 has an elbow portion 34 preferably equipped with splinters or guide vanes 35 for changing the direction of the'gaseous'media from the vertical vto thehorizontal in the most efficient manner possible. The base lportion 3l is preferably made circular to facilitate turning the cowl while the elbow portion 34 as well .as a considerable part of the divergent portion 33 is stream-lined, as shown in Fig'. 7, the front .surface 37 preferably having a greater radius of curvature than the rear surface 38. y

While I have shown my invention in two forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the artA that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other 'changes and modifications without departing fromthe spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that onlyy suchlimitaf tions shall beplaced thereupon as are imposed by the prior art Oras are vspecifically set forth inA the appended claims. i

Vhat I claim is i 1.v A cowl having a vertically-extending portion embodying avertical opening and a curved connecting portion having a horizontal opening,one of said openings being arranged for the. intake lofk gaseous' ;media and the otherI of said openings for the discharge of gaseous media, said. curved portion having its cross-sectional areaelongatedin a direction from the frontitoward the rear so as to reduce its frontal area and said vertical portion diverging in a direction from the inlet toward theV outlet vso as to effect a velocity-pressure conversion of the gaseous elbow portion toward the discharge opening so as to effect a velocity-pressure conversion of the gaseous media passing through the cowl, and guide vanes extending between the side walls of said elbow portion.

3. A cowl having an inlet portion for the admission of gaseous media and an outlet portion for the discharge of the gaseous media, said cowl increasing in flow-area in a direction from the inlet portion toward the outlet portion so as to effect a velocity-pressure conversion of the gaseous media passing therethrough, the entrant portion of said cowl embodying curved front and rear walls, the radius of curvature of the front wall being greater than the radius of curvature of the rear wall.

4. A cowl having a vertically-extending portion provided with a discharge opening at 2 its lower end and an elbow portion connecting with the upper end of the vertical portion and having a horizontal inlet, the depth of said elbow portion being greater than its width, whereby the frontal area of the cowl is reduced, and said vertical portion diverging in flow-area in a direction from the elbow Y conversion of the gaseous media passing through the cowl, and guide vanes provided in the elbow portion for delivering the gaseous media to the vertical portion with a more uniform velocity and pressure across the cowl. j f

6. A cowlhaving a vertically-extendingA portion embodying a vertical opening and an elbow connecting portion having a horizontal opening, one of saidopenings being arranged for the intake of gaseous media and the other of said openin s for the discharge of gaseous media, said el ow portion having its cross` sectional area elongated in a direction from the front toward the rear so as to reduce its frontal area.

7. A cowl having a vertically-extending portion embodying a substantially circular opening and an elbow connecting portion having a horizontal opening, one of said openings being arranged'for the intake of gaseous media and the other of said openings for the discharge of gaseous media, the distance between the side walls of said elbow 66 portion being less than the distance between opening so as to effect a velocity-pressure HENRY F. SCHMIDT. 

